The National Yo-Yo Contest began on October 2, 1993, on the Garden Court Stage at the Chico Expo in Chico, California. For more than two decades it was a Chico tradition, most often staged downtown at City Plaza. Since 2015 it has traveled the country, paused during the pandemic, and found a summer home in Las Vegas.
From the archive
Where it all started
The second issue of Contest News, printed in September 1993, announced the first National YoYo Championship: Saturday, October 2, at the Chico Fairgrounds as part of the Chico Expo. The day ran Beginners and Advanced divisions, guest performances, and the Championship final at 4pm, with a banquet for players and families the night before.
Chico had earned its reputation as the yo-yo capital by hosting well attended regional contests every year since 1988.
Contest News No. 2, September 1993. Presented by the Chico Area Recreation and Park District, underwritten by Bird in Hand and the Greater Chico Chamber of Commerce.
The Chico years
1993 to 2014 · Chico, California
- 1993–2014Chico, CAHeld every fall in Chico for 22 years, beginning at the Chico Expo on October 2, 1993 and most often staged downtown at City Plaza.
On the road
2015 to 2019
- 2015Redondo Beach, CARedondo Beach Performing Arts Center (finals) · September 26. Preliminaries at the Westin LAX, Los Angeles
- 2016Redondo Beach, CARedondo Beach Performing Arts Center · September 17
- 2017Chico, CAChico Center for the Arts at Pleasant Valley High School · October 6–8
- 2018Chicago, ILAthenaeum Theatre · June 29–July 1
- 2019Philadelphia, PAIndependence Seaport Museum · June 28–30
Pause
2020 and 2021
- 2020–2021No contest heldBoth years were canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mesa, Arizona had been announced as the 2020 host.
The modern era
2022 to today
- 2022Mesa, AZDelta Hotel Phoenix-Mesa · June 24–26
- 2023Mesa, AZDelta Hotel Phoenix-Mesa · June 30–July 2
- 2024Philadelphia, PASheraton Philadelphia Downtown · June 21–23
- 2025Las Vegas, NVWestgate Las Vegas · June 27–29 · Results
- 2026Las Vegas, NVWestgate Las Vegas · June 26–28 · Results
- 2027Las Vegas, NVWestgate Las Vegas · June 25–27 · Plan your trip